Remembering the Orange Julius

A mall drink, a century of history, and a good reason to own a blender

Full recipe below

In 1926, a man named Julius Freed opened a small orange juice stand on South Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. He wasn’t selling much — about $20 worth of drinks a day. Orange juice, it turns out, is acidic. People weren’t lining up for the stomach discomfort.

Three years later, his friend and real estate broker Bill Hamlin came up with a recipe for a drink that his stomach liked a bit better. At Hamlin’s suggestion, Freed jazzed up the drink with a formula of egg whites, non-dairy powder, vanilla, and a few other secret ingredients. The result was something frothy, creamy, and smooth. Sales jumped to $100 a day. By 1929, the small kiosk was reportedly serving up to 5,000 glasses a day.

The name came from the customers themselves. People would roll up to the stand and shout, “Give me an orange, Julius!” It stuck.

Here’s an Orange Julius Fact Sheet for kids.

Orange Julius became a franchise. It landed at state fairs, then county fairs, then shopping malls — which is where most of us under 50 first encountered it. For a whole generation, it was the reward at the end of a trip to the mall with your parents. Creamsicle in a cup. Cold, smooth, vaguely magical.

Dairy Queen acquired Orange Julius in 1987, and it has lived as a branded menu item under that umbrella ever since. You can still order one. It’s fine. But it tastes more like an orange sherbet milkshake than it does the drink I remember standing in line for while my mom looked at shoes.

So I made my own.

The original formula used egg whites to get that frothy texture. This version skips the egg whites and uses sweetened condensed milk instead, which handles both the creaminess and the sweetness in one shot. Clear vanilla extract does quiet, important work here. Fresh-squeezed orange juice — three oranges — brings the brightness that the mall version lost somewhere along the way.

Blend it until it’s completely smooth and what you get is something sharp and creamy at the same time. It tastes like the late 80s. Parachute pants. Members Only jackets. The food court at Broward Mall.

One good drink.

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The Citrus Maximus (copycat Orange Julius)

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients

• 3 oranges, juiced, plus a thin orange wheel for garnish

• 1 cup ice

• 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Combine the orange juice, ice, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla in a blender. Blend on high until smooth and creamy. Pour into a glass. Garnish with the orange wheel.

Enjoy!

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